Shakira’s Unique Brand of Feminism Is Less ‘Barbie’ and More 'Wonder Woman'

Shakira was not one of the many 'Barbenheimer' enthusiasts last summer. She recently revealed to Allure that she wasn't a fan of Greta Gerwig's modern retelling of the plastic doll, and explained that her sons didn't enjoy the movie and that she also didn't feel like it fit with her version of feminism.

“My sons absolutely hated it. They felt that it was emasculating," Shakira shared. "And I agree, to a certain extent. I'm raising two boys. I want 'em to feel powerful too [while] respecting women. I like pop culture when it attempts to empower women without robbing men of their possibility to be men, to also protect and provide. I believe in giving women all the tools and the trust that we can do it all without losing our essence, without losing our femininity. I think that men have a purpose in society and women have another purpose as well. We complement each other, and that complement should not be lost.”

Shakira feels like men should have the same duty as women to carry this burden, and it's an agency she wishes to instill in her two sons, Milan and Sasha.

She discussed more of her views on feminism, including her view of beauty. Shakira has often been revered for her stunning looks, a compliment she quickly dismissed. “I didn’t think beauty was my forte," she said. "I thought it was just one more thing that I could exploit.”

Shakira might also not be a fan of Margot Robbie's Barbie, as she grew up with a very different female idol guiding her way. “My idol was Wonder Woman," she explained. "I think I was drawn to her because she had black hair like mine, but also because she was a symbol of empowerment and strength in a decade where women were not playing the most important roles. I remember my mom stopped working at some point. She stopped wearing miniskirts, and the length of her skirts got longer because my dad said so.”

How does she get her looks to a point where she can "exploit" them for her own gain? "I don't do a lot of shit,” she explained. “I hydrate with marula oil and hyaluronic acid. And when I have an appearance, I do the craziest thing. I massage my face and neck very vigorously because I believe that circulation, the irrigation of blood to the skin and muscles, can rejuvenate, so I look more plumped.”

But everyone wants to know about her hair; those glossy locks are a cornerstone of her appearance. Unfortunately, Shakira isn't about to name-drop a product people can go out and buy. Interestingly, she actually creates her own in a lab.

“I've tried every single hair product on the market," she said. "There are not many out there that can deal with damage, moisture, frizziness, shine, and all of that so...I went to a lab and developed my own products for myself, my own line. Maybe one day I'll share my secret.“

Interest in Shakira reached new levels after her split from Gerard Pique. In June 2022, the couple confirmed in a joint statement that they were separating after ten years together. Piqué has been in a relationship with Clara Chía Martí since 2022, whom he allegedly cheated with.

“I was in the mud. I had to reconstruct myself," Shakira said of this difficult time. "I had to reunite all the pieces that had fallen apart.”

But she took this pain and turned it into art through her new album, Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (Women No Longer Cry). This is her first album since she released El Dorado seven years ago. With these 16 tracks, Shakira aims "to build bridges, to empower people, to help women discover their own strengths,” she said.

“Making this music has shown me that my pain can be transformed into creativity," she explained. “The songs are full of anecdotes and some very intense emotions I have experienced in these two years. But creating this album has been a transformation in which I have been reborn as a woman. I have rebuilt myself in the ways I believe are appropriate. No one tells me how to cry or when to cry, no one tells me how to raise my children, no one tells me how I become a better version of myself. I decide that.”

This is centered on her belief that women shouldn't make themselves smaller, especially not in their grief or struggle. She wants to be loud about her hurt so that other women can share that space as well. “In the past, when women went through a difficult situation, they were expected to mind their manners, to hide the pain, to cry in silence," Shakira said. "That's over. Now, no one will control us. No one will tell us how to heal, how to clean our wounds.”

“No one tells me how I become a better version of myself. I decide that,” Shakira added, delineating her overarching principle for this time in her life.